Watch live: New Year's Eve countdowns and fireworks around the world

NEW YORK - As the world rings in the New Year with fireworks and festivities, LiveNOW from FOX is giving you a front seat to those celebrations from the comfort of your home or phone. 

On Wednesday, December 31, you can be a part of New Year’s Eve countdowns and celebrations in several time zones. 

New Zealand celebrates 2026

Sky Tower Fireworks: Auckland, New Zealand was one of the first major cities in the world to welcome 2026 with stunning New Year's Eve fireworks and laser lights over the Sky Tower and Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Live New Year's celebrations

Big picture view:

From 5 a.m. ET on Dec. 31, 2025, through 4 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2026, LiveNOW from FOX will bring viewers fireworks shows and celebrations across the globe, starting in New Zealand and continuing through Australia, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Greece, South Africa, Italy, England, Brazil and beyond.

The "family fireworks", also known as the Country fireworks displayed three hours before midnight every year ahead of the main show at midnight, fill the sky over the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney on New Year's Eve on December 31, 2

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Timeline:

Here's when, in Eastern time, these locations hit midnight:

• 6 a.m. ET: Auckland
• 8 a.m. ET: Sydney
• 10 a.m. ET: Tokyo
• 11 a.m. ET: Beijing, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur
• 12 p.m. ET: Bangkok
• 3 p.m. ET: Dubai
• 4 p.m. ET: Nairobi, Kiev
• 5 p.m. ET: Athens
• 6 p.m. ET: Rome, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
• 7 p.m. ET: London, Dublin, Dakar
• 10 p.m. ET: Rio de Janeiro
• 12 a.m. ET: New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta
• 1 a.m. ET: Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New Orleans, Mexico City
• 2 a.m. ET: Phoenix
• 3 a.m. ET: Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles

NYC preps for New Year's Eve celebrations

Preparations are underway in New York's Times Square where nearly a million people will gather on New Year's Eve. FOX 5 New York's Jessica Formoso joins LiveNOW's Carel Lajara with an update on how preparations are going.

Highlights to watch for

Local perspective:

Sydney will have summertime fireworks before midnight over the harbor, followed shortly by midnight fireworks and lasers over Auckland's Sky Tower and Harbour Bridge.

Later, fireworks will illuminate the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Then, Dubai will light up the Burj Khalifa, Parisians will watch fireworks over the Arc de Triomphe, London will showcase fireworks along the Thames, and Rio's Copacabana Beach will host thousands of people dressed in white. That's all before Times Square's iconic ball drop – red, white, and blue this year.

Where to watch

What you can do:

You can watch LiveNOW from FOX in the live player above. You can also watch it for free wherever you stream, from your TV to your phone to your tablet.  

You can find LiveNOW from FOX on FOX One and the FOX Local smart TV apps, along with Amazon Freevee, Amazon News, fuboTV, LG Channels, Plex, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi, Vizio WatchFree+, Xumo, YouTube and YouTube TV.